he would be exposed to their volleys of
stones, and if he was hurt he might not get back on his craft. Tod, who
had resigned command in favor of his henchman after Archie's masterly
defence in the last fight, stood behind him. Thermopylae was a narrow
place, and so was the famous Bridge of Horatius. He and his faithful
Tod would now make the fight of their lives. Both of these close shaves
for immortality were closed books to Tod, but Archie knew every line of
their records, Doctor John having spent many an hour reading to him,
the boy curled up in his lap while Jane listened.

Sandy, emboldened by the discovery of the plank, made the first rush up
and was immediately knocked from his perch by Tod, whose pole swung
around his head like a flail. Then Scootsy tried it, crawling up,
protecting his head by ducking it under his elbows, holding meanwhile
by his hand. Tod's blows fell about his back, but the boy struggled on
until Archie reached over the gunwale, and with a twist of his wrist,
using all his strength, dropped the invader to the sand below.

The success of this mode of attack was made apparent, provided they
could stick to the plank. Five boys now climbed up. Archie belabored
the first one with the pole and Tod grappled with the second, trying to
throw him from the rail to the sand, some ten feet below, but the rat
close behind him, in spite of their efforts, reached forward, caught
the rail, and scrambled up to his mate's assistance. In another instant
both had leaped to the sloop's deck.

"Back! back! Run, Toddy!" screamed Archie, waving his arms. "Get on the
poop-deck; we can lick them there. Run!"

Tod darted back, and the two defenders clearing the intervening rotten
timbers with a bound, sprang upon the roof of the old cabin--Archie's
"poop."

With a whoop the savages followed, jumping over the holes in the
planking and avoiding the nails in the open beams.

In the melee Archie had lost his pole, and was now standing, hat off,
his blue eves flashing, all the blood of his overheated little body
blazing in his face. The tears of defeat were trembling under his
eyelids, He had been outnumbered, but he would die game. In his hand he
carried, unconsciously to himself, the big-bladed pocket knife the
captain had given him. He would as soon have used it on his mother as
upon one of his enemies, but the Barnegat invaders were ignorant of
that fact, knives being the last resort in their environment.

"Look